Frenchman Pierre Giner became hooked on Japanese TV anime when he was an elementary school student. This fascination led him to become a manga and anime translator -- and eventually to Tokyo to live and work.
"I want to use manga and anime to bring Japan and France closer, even by only a single millimeter," Giner said in fluent Japanese.
Giner has lived in Tokyo since coming to Japan in 1997. He has translated a number of Japanese manga works into French, such as "Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas: Meio Shinwa Gaiden" (Saint Seiya the lost canvas: The side story of the Hades mythology). He has also been involved in organizing the Japan Expo in Paris -- an annual event to promote Japanese pop culture in France -- since 2002. He has earned the respect of French manga and anime fans and people in the industry here in Japan.
Born in Aix-en-Provence, France -- the birthplace of painter Paul Cezanne -- a young Giner developed a love for Japanese pop culture when he saw the anime "UFO Robo Grendizer." He fell in love with the protagonist, who used a giant robot to fight battles at a time when Superman, Zorro and Arsene Lupin were among the most popular heroes of the day.
Giner also loved tokusatsu sci-fi action works. He had been practicing judo, but switched to karate after being inspired by action scenes in the tokusatsu drama "Gavan." He studied Japanese at university.
"Japanese heroes don't just fulfill the great mission of protecting the Earth," Giner said. "If someone near them is in trouble, they don't hesitate to help. I think that makes them cool."
Giner wanted to find a job in the world of Japanese manga and anime, but unfortunately lacked drawing skills. He was hired at a European company, where he mainly translated Japanese anime into French.
"I feel blessed to be able to work with such masters as Go Nagai, the creator of 'UFO Robo Grendizer,' and director Hayao Miyazaki," he said. "I treasure meeting such master creators."
Giner became a freelancer in 2001, and has mostly worked on translating manga since then. "I am able to provide relief to my parents [in finding a stable job] when the manga I have translated sit on bookshelves in France," he said.
Giner said he has found Japanese onomatopoeia the most difficult element to translate.
"In Japanese, when it's absolutely quiet, there's the onomatopoeia of 'shiiin.' But that makes French readers wonder, 'If it's supposed to be absolutely quiet, why is there a sound?'" Giner said with a laugh. "There's nothing I can do about it, so I put in a footnote."
Giner said he harbors the dream of producing his own animation or tokusatsu work -- if he ever has enough time and money in the future.
"Just like [these works] gave me a dream when I was a little boy in the 1970s," he said, "I hope to take my turn at producing a work that can make the children of today happy."
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